Well, the rumors came true last week. On Thursday, Avid announced (and began selling) the long hoped for latest version of their popular DAW, Pro Tools. Version 9 is here and it’s a big one. Not just more stuff included, but a whole shift of business model and direction. I for one think it’s all for the better, but only time will tell.
I watched the Avid AES press conference last Thursday night and it was really exciting. I’ve posted it here for your viewing pleasure if you have an hour of time. If not, skip below for my summary.
A New Direction (And Name)
Pro Tools LE no longer exists. It is simply called Pro Tools. That’s right, Avid has dropped the LE distinction and more importantly they have decoupled their native DAW from the hardware. That’s right, Pro Tools 9 is a stand alone software package; just like most other DAWs.
This means two big things:
- Pro Tools now works with any hardware interface you like, not just Avid products. For obvious reasons this is big. Now you have even more choice of hardware as a Pro Tools user, and owners of other audio interfaces can now consider Pro Tools as a DAW purchase without the redundancy of buying a second interface.
- This also means that Pro Tools technically needs NO hardware to run. You can finally open (and USE) Pro Tools on your laptop, without anything other than an iLok attached. Finally.
Top Requested Features Are Here
Pro Tools 9 includes a host of highly anticipated features and upgrades. The most requested has always been ADC (Automatic Delay Compensation), and it is now included with Pro Tools. This is huge for a lot of reasons, but considering every other major DAW has it, it’s about time Avid re-coded native Pro Tools to handle it. Also, the audio track limitation doubled to 96. The buss count went from 32 to 256. The instrument track count increased as well. Features from Pro Tools HD are now standard: multi-track beat detective, MP3 and OMF export, and even up to 32 tracks of I/O depending on your interface.
Let’s Talk Money
As of today, anyone can now purchase a full copy of Pro Tools 9 for $599 US. You can use it with any audio interface you like. This is a great opportunity for those of you who’ve been interested in PT but didn’t want a bundled hardware package. It might be worth looking into if you need a new DAW. For current LE users, the “crossgrade” will cost you $249. M-Powered users will have to pay $349 to get their hands on PT 9.
For the remainder of the year, the current line of 003 and Mbox interfaces from Avid will come bundled with Pro Tools LE version 8, but you can upgrade to 9 for only $99. Supposedly after January 1, Avid will bundle their “LE” hardware with Pro Tools 9 but the price will go up, understandably.
My Thoughts?
Not that it really matters what I think, but my overall opinion like I mentioned above is that Avid has made the right move. They finally “opened” up their amazing industry standard DAW to play nice with any hardware. And they even made it a better program! Being a Pro Tools LE user since version 6, I can tell you that what you get for the money today is insane compared to what you got back in 2003.
Pro Tools 8 is already an incredible DAW and I use it to produce music for a living. I think 9, though, is moving in an even better direction that bodes well for EVERYONE in the industry. Just think, the biggest gripes anyone ever had about Pro Tools was the lack of tracks, ADC, and hardware requirement. Those are all non issues now, so it’s truly an option for some previous doubters.
Comments
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Pretty cool, would be alittle too advanced for my needs for now. Good deal for those with different types of interfaces. Is the ilok included?
iLok comes with the boxed version, but not the digital download.
Wow! It’s all I can say… Can’t wait to crossgrade!
Any idea why the crossgrade from M-Powered is $100 more than LE?
The official word from Avid on this is that LE users likely paid more than a typical M-Powered user since they had to buy hardware and software for their rig.
People are kind of upset about it, but that’s how they decided to handle things. Here is their official PT 9 forum: http://duc.avid.com/forumdisplay.php?f=50
I’m wanting to upgrade from the M-Powered 8 essential, to the full version of M-8.
but I can not find anything specifically stating that I can just pay the 149.00 upgrade/download, or must purchase the full version @ 299.00. Have any feedback for this? I’ve checked avid and m-audio’s forums but nothing specific on this, and most of the forum replies about essentials was dated last year when it seemed to have just come out. Thanks for any advice/direction.
Hey Dan…in preface, everything with PT and all it’s versions is a little confusing at the moment as they are transitioning to a different product line.
That being said, I think if you have PT MP Essential (free version of PT) then you would have to pay $249 for the full version of PT M-Powered 8, or $599 for the full version of PT 9. Since your version was free, it’s as if you aren’t “upgrading” at all. The $149 upgrade you see is if you already purchased M-Powered version 7 (for $250) and want version 8.
Hope that helps.
Ok, sounds more realistic to upgrade from a “previous” version. When I click on items not available with my essentials, some of the features will say if you “upgrade” to full version you get this, then other features will state only available if you “purchase” the full version, so kinda leaves you in the dark on which one to do.
Thanks for the reply.
Pro Tools 9 is FANTASTIC. I’ve been using PT since 7 and let me tell you, I could not be more proud to boast their DAW. My only issue is, I upgraded to PT 8 few months prior, I wish they would’ve given newly purchased upgrades a bit more discount, but alls well that ends well. I’m on an MBOX2 at the moment, and I need to find a larger interface to take on drums. Right now I’m eyeing the Focusrite stuff, because of their excellent preamps at affordable rates. The Saffire Pro 40 seems to be getting amazing reviews and I find them online for under $500. I’m also looking at the Sweetwater mic locker, which has a few mics to assist with drums. Whats your take?
Keep up the good work Graham!
Lee, thanks for the comment! The Focusrite interfaces are fantastic and are a great value. The Mic Locker at Sweetwater is a good deal too. A nice variety of mics to work with. Can’t go wrong.
I dont get something.
I have an maudio project mix i/o console.
Than I bought a mpowered protools 8 academic license because I was studying sound engineering. It was only the programm, NOT with hardware since I already had maudio project mix.
Now to crossgrade to protools 9 it says it will ask me for ilok (ok I have this), and for hardware serial number (??? I bought it alone and use it with my own card…).
Anyone knows if I will have a problem if I buy the protools 9 crossgrade?
Ok I found the sollution. Mpowered crossgrade is not bound with hardware, just with previous ilok account with mpowered protools.